* The chilling of wines is accomplished by keeping them in a
cool cellar, or in summer by placing the bottles in freshly drawn
water, not ice-water. Chilling is not icing. While an ordinary
Bordeaux or table claret is generally preferred by Americans
slightly chilled, epicures are inclined to treat their choice clarets
like Burgundy ; in cold weather the wine may remain upon the
sideboard in the dining-room until it acquires the temperature of
the room ; or, if there is not time enough for that, the bottle may
be placed for two or three minutes in a pail of lukewarm water ;
the water must not be hot, only warm enough to develop the
aroma of the wine. Some Americans spoil the flavor of claret by
putting lumps of ice in the glasses containing it ; when it is liked
very cold it is best as claret-cup or punch.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ETIQUETTE OF DINNERS.
THE selection of guests for a dinner should be thought-
fully made. Not only should social obligations and
personal preferences be consulted, but also the individual
characteristics of the guests ; for a disagreeable neighbor
can destroy the entire enjoyment of the repast. A dinner
is not the affair of a moment : it implies prolonged associa-
tion. At a luncheon, where the time spent at table is short,
at a garden-party, where change of companionship is possi-
ble, at a dance, where the favorite partner can be secured at
least once, no such nice discrimination is demanded, upon
the part of the host, as at the dinner-table, where guests are
placed in close proximity for hours. It is true that no intro-
ductions need take place, except between guests who are to
go down together, when they are not already acquaintances,
or where there is on the part of the guests a natural desire
for introduction to some distinguished person present ; but
one takes the fact for granted that every guest at a friend's
table is a desirable companion, and every one is at liberty
to enter into conversation without a formal introduction.
Although such desultory intercourse does not entail subse-
quent recognition, it is the duty of the host to make sure
that the passing intercourse leaves no unwelcome claims
upon his guests. Then, too, those persons should be placed
together whose conversation is likely to strike upon conge-
^33
134 PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
nial topics in the intervals of well-served courses. The
guests see so little of the hosts, after the first salutation, that
they are in a measure bound to replace themselves in the
arrangement of their guests. While one would not place a
chatterbox without taste beside a man inclined to pay the
choice dish of the dinner the tribute of silent appreciation,
nothing can be more wearisome than a long, elaborate dinner
beside a person without smile or voice. It is true that a
gourmand may find consolation in well-cooked dishes, but
it is not in every house that these are served. To place a
flippant guest beside an earnest one, a commonplace on-e
next a' poet, is to intensify the misery of ennui. The dinner-
giver does not always invite " minds " to the feast, but the
fact that guests have minds should not be forgotten.
Page 77
Presented as published in 1885. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
* The chilling of wines is accomplished by keeping them in a cool cellar, or in summer by placing the bottles in freshly drawn water, not ice-water. Chilling is not icing. While an ordinary Bordeaux or table claret is generally preferred by Americans slightly chilled, epicures are inclined to treat their choice clarets like Burgundy ; in cold weather the wine may remain upon the sideboard in the dining-room until it acquires the temperature of the room ; or, if there is not time enough for that, the bottle may be placed for two or three minutes in a pail of lukewarm water ; the water must not be hot, only warm enough to develop the aroma of the wine. Some Americans spoil the flavor of claret by putting lumps of ice in the glasses containing it ; when it is liked very cold it is best as claret-cup or punch.
THE selection of guests for a dinner should be thoughtfully made. Not only should social obligations and personal preferences be consulted, but also the individual characteristics of the guests ; for a disagreeable neighbor can destroy the entire enjoyment of the repast. A dinner is not the affair of a moment : it implies prolonged association. At a luncheon, where the time spent at table is short, at a garden-party, where change of companionship is possible, at a dance, where the favorite partner can be secured at least once, no such nice discrimination is demanded, upon the part of the host, as at the dinner-table, where guests are placed in close proximity for hours. It is true that no introductions need take place, except between guests who are to go down together, when they are not already acquaintances, or where there is on the part of the guests a natural desire for introduction to some distinguished person present ; but one takes the fact for granted that every guest at a friend's table is a desirable companion, and every one is at liberty to enter into conversation without a formal introduction. Although such desultory intercourse does not entail subsequent recognition, it is the duty of the host to make sure that the passing intercourse leaves no unwelcome claims upon his guests. Then, too, those persons should be placed together whose conversation is likely to strike upon congenial topics in the intervals of well-served courses. The guests see so little of the hosts, after the first salutation, that they are in a measure bound to replace themselves in the arrangement of their guests. While one would not place a chatterbox without taste beside a man inclined to pay the choice dish of the dinner the tribute of silent appreciation, nothing can be more wearisome than a long, elaborate dinner beside a person without smile or voice. It is true that a gourmand may find consolation in well-cooked dishes, but it is not in every house that these are served. To place a flippant guest beside an earnest one, a commonplace one next a poet, is to intensify the misery of ennui. The dinnergiver does not always invite " minds " to the feast, but the fact that guests have minds should not be forgotten.